(Vienna 1733–1808 Rome) Portrait of a gentleman traditionally identified as Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1743–1805), oil on canvas, 87 x 60 cm, framed,

Compare Antonello Cesareo, „Anton von Maron, The first portrait painter at present in Rome“, in: Antologia di belle arti, N. S. 2007, 67/ 70, pp. 104-29. We are grateful to Dr. Antonello Cesareo, Rome, for suggesting Maron and identifying the sitter. This portrait has recently been identified as a work by Maron. It has long been regarded as a work by Pompeo Batoni or a member of his circle. An attribution to Nathaniel Dance Holland has also been suggested. Dr. Cesareo, who is currently compiling a catalogue raisonné of Anton von Maron‘s works, considers it likely that the present painting is the bust of the Duke of Gloucester mentioned in old sources, which Maron may have executed besides the duke‘s full-length portrait (Bamburgh Castle, England). Dr. Cesareo confirms the traditional identification of the sitter, which was frequently doubted in the past, and points out physiognomic similarities to other portraits of the Duke of Gloucester. Our portrait could have been done in 1772 or after 1776, when the duke sojourned in Rome. The sitter had close ties with his brother, King George III. After his military education, he clandestinely and without royal consent married the illegitimate daughter of Sir Horace Walpole, a famous beauty of the Georgian period. In 1772, when it was no longer possible to keep their marriage a secret, the couple travelled to Rome, where Batoni painted the duke‘s portrait. After their return to England, the couple was urged to retire to the duke‘s country estate, and the art-minded prince intensively devoted himself to the decoration of his residence. The ducal couple went to Rome again in 1776; the present portrait might date from that period. The well-educated duke was a member of the Royal Society of Arts and had graduated as a doctor of law from the University of Cambridge. Anton von Maron figures in the Vienna Academy‘s enrolment lists of 1741 and 1744. He travelled to Rome in 1755 and the following year was admitted as a member to the Roman Accademia di San Luca. He developed into a renowned portraitist and was able to mediate between the Roman and Viennese art scenes. In 1757 and in 1760/61, Maron executed the fresco decorations in the church of San Eusebio and in the Villa Albani in Rome together with A. R. Mengs. When Mengs was called to Madrid in 1761, Maron followed in his colleague‘s position and took over the latter‘s clientele. Maron‘s portrait of the art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann (now in the Weimar Town Palace), dating from his early period as an independent painter, is considered one of his principal works. Starting in 1770, he executed several portraits of members of the Imperial family, including a portrait of Maria Theresa as a widow. Maron was ennobled in 1772. The present portrait dates from the artist‘s most mature period.